Huntsville gazette., 1887-03-12
WRECKED IN A WASHOJT.


road, the Result of a Washout Caused by
the Recent Heavy Rsins-One AMI Per-
haps Two Lives, Lost-Mirac culous Escape
OF the Rest of the Imperiled Passengers.
ST. LOUIS March IA serious wreck,
caused by washout, occurred at Joachim
creek, on the Iron Mountain railroad Sat
urday night, by which two persons lost
their lives and several were more or less
seriously injured.
The dead were: Henry Byron, aged
about thirty years, an unmarried resident
Of De Soto. Mo-, and an unknown man,
whose body was carried away in the rush
ing waters of the creek, which caused the
washout and the accident.
The injured, 80 far as ascertained, were
as follows:
Valto Al.meyer Columbus, O.; serious
contusions about the head and body
Antonio Patella, Italy, a laborer, passen-
ger for Texarkana; contusions about the
face, head and lower limbs.
Frank Burns, St. Louis, one Of the bag
gage-masters; slight cut in the face.
Lou Kelley, engineer; severe contusions
abou the face and body and toes OF left
fo OF crushed and badly bruised.
Frank Hatch, De Soto. fireman; several
painful contusicns of the back and body
j. FL. Baldwin, jamestown, N. u. cut In
hand and wrist.
j. H. Titcomb, San Jose, Cal; left hand
cut.
s. P. Beck, Point Burnside, KY; con-
tusions about head and face.
William FontaIne, news agent on the
train; contusions about the head and
face.
The body of Mr.. Byron was found In the
em moking-car af er the wa ter had su bsided
He had been drowned and was no,
bruised or mutilated in any way. The
body was allowed to remain in the coact
until three o'clock in the afternoon Of yes
tel day, when it was taken to De Soto and
given in charge of the company's under
taker, Mr.. Robert Coxwell. The unknown
body was not recovered, it supposedly
having been washed awav in the food
Those persons injured were given the
neces sary medical attention, and some o.
them were brought to st. Louis and SEN
to the Missouri Pacific hospital for treat
ment.
A HERO OF THE WRECK:
p 81. Fitzgerald, one of the passengers
said: II am a conductor, formerly from
the New York & New England railroad.
but for the past two years and half have
been conductor on the St. Louis, Irot
Mountain & Southern railroad Twas OIL
my way home from st. Louis to Bismarck
where I reside just before we ran
on the trestle was sitting
In seat talking with Joe Guion, the con
ductor of the train, and George Herbert
conductor of the local freight, who was
going home to spend Sunday, after taking
his run into st. Louis Saturday evening
a faIEinu ahout the hiuh yyQtnr
and Herbert said it would be wonder il
we did not have some wrecks tonight.
He had only finished saying this when tn
shock came, and Guion said: we have
got it now,' and he turned to me and said
Goodbye, Fitz,' and we shook hands and
parted to save ourselves as best we could
AS soon as l saw the water we starte
back through the car. All the other pas
sengers had left their seats in wild confu
sion, and when found | could not pass
along the aisle / climbed over the backs OF
the seats and called out: Break out the
windows and go out at the sde.' ! kicked
out window when the water was up T.
my waist and climbed on the window sill
but could not reach to climb on top, unit
Conductor Guion, who had followed tn
same course of action, had succeeded il
reaching the top Of the car (becausc
he was taller and could reach the ventila
tor) gave me his assistance. then heard
Herbert call my name from the end OF tn
car which wa deenest in the water, say
ing; sFitz, for Gods sake, help me out,
succee led in getting him on ton, and ht
then held my hand while pullei up three
others from the same car. and some one
else helped me pull up two more from thai
side.
We then went to the other side where
we rescued four more in the same way
There were twelve of US on the top Of the
car, and we were fifty feet from land
The water must have been at least ten fe'
deep. Conductor Guion and consultec
what we should do. ! asked him il h
could sw IN and he only said: It's bao
case.'
took off all nv heavy clothes three
times to swim out but others said wait
Guion asked: Can you get to shore
F.tz9 and answered, yes; ! can max
IT. Finally whsn the car commenced =
roll and swing down with the current a.
if it was about to jump and swim ashore
and, before doing so, we shook hands an
said good bye He jumped and fol
lowed him. Guion caught limb OF
tree and succeeded in climbing into the
tree and got from there to shore. did
not catch the tree but went down with
the current some stance and succeeded
in swimming to shore. 1t was a broken
and very rapid current | was fol
lowed by Con luctor Herbert and a pas
senger Herbert clught in the tree and
the passenger followed me to shore
We then got the bell rope tc
the car by throwing the rope Il
Herbert in the tree and he threw it to the
car where it was made fast We first sent
an axe over the rope to the car and cut
hole in the top of the car. All the passen
gers were landed by this rope and raft,
which was made afterward, except one
man, who was drowned in the car and
who is the only one positively
known to have perished. A
soon as we got to the top of the car VIC
called to those at the rear Of the tram L
60 back and flag the Belmont train, which
was following close, and | saw the brake
man go back. After we got the passen
gers off the top of the smoker, the brake
man came to me and said Engineer Kelley
and his fireman, Hatch, were down the
stream on tree He had heard them call
4 "a